Nigeria’s cocoa exports to US surge to $142m in 2025

Nigeria’s cocoa bean exports to the United States increased more than sixfold in 2025, rising from $21.7 million in 2024 to $142 million, the US mission in Nigeria has said.

The figure represents an increase of about 554.4 per cent within one year, highlighting the growing value of Nigeria’s cocoa trade with the US.

“U.S. demand for Nigerian cocoa is booming. Cocoa bean exports to the United States jumped from $21.7 million in 2024 to $142 million in 2025,” the US mission said in a post on its official Facebook page on Tuesday.

The mission said the trade relationship also benefits Nigeria through US agricultural exports, noting that wheat accounts for 67 per cent of US agricultural exports to the country.

The trade, it said, represents “fair, two-way trade that works for farmers, businesses, and families on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The increase comes amid efforts to revive Nigeria’s cocoa industry, improve productivity and expand local processing to capture more value from the commodity.

Challenges facing Nigeria’s cocoa industry

Nigeria’s cocoa industry has struggled with declining productivity, ageing plantations and growing pressure from urbanisation and population growth, which continue to reduce available farmland in major producing states.

Many cocoa trees are between 20 and 40 years old, while the average cocoa farmer is about 60 years old. The ageing plantations and farming population have contributed to declining yields and limited youth participation in the sector.

Smallholder farmers also face high borrowing costs, inadequate access to fertilisers and pesticides, poor-quality or counterfeit seedlings, and limited access to affordable financing.

Meanwhile, international regulations, including the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), are increasing pressure on producers and exporters to demonstrate traceability and ensure that their supply chains are not linked to deforestation.

Nigeria’s limited domestic processing capacity is another major challenge. Historically, more than 80 per cent of the country’s cocoa has been exported in raw form, limiting opportunities for local value addition, industrial development, and job creation.

However, indigenous companies, including Johnvents, which operates in Ondo State, are seeking to expand domestic processing and the production of chocolate and other cocoa-derived products.

In a related development, EIB Global, the international development arm of the European Investment Bank Group, and First City Monument Bank (FCMB) announced €85 million in financing to support private-sector businesses across Nigeria’s agricultural value chains.

At least 70 per cent of the financing is expected to target the cocoa and dairy value chains.

Stakeholders and policymakers are also advocating the establishment of a National Cocoa Management Board to restore quality control, standardisation, and input distribution functions lost after the former board’s dissolution in 1986.

These proposals form part of broader efforts to improve the sector’s performance under Nigeria’s National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) 2022–2027, which seeks to increase agricultural output and strengthen the sector’s productivity and competitiveness.

Cocoa drives agricultural export earnings

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s agricultural exports have grown significantly, with cocoa beans accounting for a substantial share of export earnings.

In the first quarter of 2026, Nigeria exported agricultural products worth ₦1.17 trillion. Cocoa beans accounted for ₦596.90 billion, alongside other major export commodities, including sesame seeds and cashew nuts.

Cocoa and its derivatives also accounted for 41.11 per cent of Nigeria’s non-oil export value in the first half of 2025.

Despite the recent increase in export value to the US, the country remains a relatively modest destination for Nigerian cocoa. In the first quarter of 2025, the US was the fourth-largest destination for Nigeria’s cocoa exports, accounting for about 6.1 per cent, behind countries including the Netherlands.

The increase in cocoa exports also comes against the backdrop of changing trade conditions between Nigeria and the US.

Nigeria’s overall exports to the US declined by 20.5 per cent in the first nine months of 2025, while the US tariff rate applicable to Nigerian goods increased from 14 to 15 per cent in August.

The US subsequently exempted certain commodities that it does not produce domestically, including cocoa, from its 10 per cent reciprocal tariff.

Global cocoa prices also declined sharply during 2025. Prices began the year at about $10,950 per tonne before falling to approximately $5,400 by November.

Nigeria’s cocoa production was also projected to decline by 11 per cent in the 2025/2026 season, raising concerns about the sustainability of export growth.

Higher exports do not necessarily mean higher farmer incomes

Although rising export values could strengthen Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and non-oil revenue, the benefits do not automatically translate into higher incomes for farmers.

Export earnings are influenced by international prices, demand and trading arrangements, while farmers’ incomes depend on farm-gate prices, bean quality and productivity.

Consequently, falling global prices and lower projected output could reduce farmers’ earnings even when export values rise.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, Agbo Bassey, the National Secretary of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, urged the government to organise farmers into cooperatives so they can sell in bulk and negotiate better prices with buyers.

He also called for investments in fermentation and drying centres to improve bean quality and ensure that farmers receive better prices for higher-quality produce.

“Pay on quality: fermentation and drying centres, with premiums for good beans,” he said.

Mr Bassey also urged the government to provide farmers with reliable price information to help them understand international market trends before selling their produce.

He called for replacing ageing cocoa trees with improved seedlings, better farming practices, and affordable credit and inputs that farmers could repay on reasonable terms.

The association’s national secretary further stressed the need for transparent traceability records to help Nigerian farmers meet international buyers’ requirements and access premium markets.

“Process more cocoa in Nigeria, so more of the value stays here,” he said.

He also advised the government to diversify Nigeria’s cocoa export destinations instead of relying heavily on a few markets.

“The tariff changes show how quickly conditions can shift, so Nigeria should sell to several countries,” he said.

Nigeria’s shrinking cocoa production

Cocoa was one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural exports and a major source of foreign exchange in the 1950s and 1960s, before crude oil displaced agriculture as the economy’s main driver.

Nigeria was once the world’s second-largest cocoa producer. Between 1960 and 1969, agriculture accounted for an average of 57 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product and generated about 64.5 per cent of export earnings.

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During that period, cocoa revenue helped finance major development projects in the former Western Region, including Cocoa House, a 26-storey building in Ibadan; Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), the first television station in sub-Saharan Africa; and the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University.

However, from the 1970s through the late 2000s, agriculture’s contribution to the economy and export earnings declined as government attention shifted increasingly towards petroleum exploration and production.

Urbanisation and population growth have further reduced the land available for cocoa cultivation across the country’s major producing states.

Data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations show that Nigeria’s average annual cocoa production declined from about 420,000 tonnes in the 1960s to 170,000 tonnes in 1999.

Production subsequently recovered to about 399,200 tonnes between 2000 and 2010 before falling to 302,066 tonnes in 2015 and 298,029 tonnes in 2016. The decline also affected Nigeria’s position in the global cocoa market, with the country falling to fourth place among the world’s largest producers during that period.

Production later improved, averaging about 333,000 tonnes in 2017 and 2018, reaching 348,448 tonnes in 2019, then declining slightly to 340,163 tonnes in 2020.

Nigeria continues to lag behind its West African neighbours, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, which produce approximately 1.2 million tonnes and two million tonnes of cocoa annually, respectively.

Available estimates put Nigeria’s cocoa production at about 290,000 tonnes in 2021, 280,000 tonnes in 2022, 284,232 tonnes in 2023 and 350,000 tonnes in 2024 and 2025

Reversing the long-term decline will require renewed investment in plantations, improved access to finance and agricultural inputs, stronger quality assurance, and expanded domestic processing.

While the surge in exports to the US offers an opportunity to strengthen Nigeria’s non-oil earnings, sustained growth will depend on whether the country can increase production, improve farmers’ incomes and retain more of the cocoa value chain within its borders.